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Professor Paul Willis

Biography

Paul has been Professor of Corporate Communication at the University of Huddersfield since June 2017. He joined the team from Leeds Business School where he was Director of the Centre for Public Relations Studies. Paul works with professional communicators and other senior executives in Government, NGOs and the private sector. In 2016, he was appointed a member of the Government’s Future Communication Council by the Cabinet Office and Prime Minister’s Office.

Paul teaches on the Government Communication Service ‘Inspire’ programme and delivers a range of other innovative co-created executive education programmes at Masters-level. Paul was the joint recipient of the National Communication Association PRIDE Award for outstanding contribution to public relations education and his experiences of co-creation have been used to inform policy papers, journal articles and book chapters.

Paul’s core research interests underpin his teaching and include studies of the leadership challenges confronting communication professionals, as well as explorations of how strategic communication can be used to help organisations address ‘wicked problems’. He has recently completed a major international study for the European Commission investigating how innovative forms of stakeholder engagement can support business sustainability. Other projects include work for the Department Health on strategic communication policy, plus investigations for a range of major companies on emerging trends and their impact on organisational communication. Work for organisations like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation have also provided Paul with the opportunity to be a member of multidisciplinary research teams commissioned to investigate issues such as inclusive economic growth.

Paul held a number of leadership and board level positions in the private sector before joining academia in 2008, including deputy managing director of one of the UK’s leading independent corporate communication consultancies. He was part of the team which won the prestigious PR Week ‘Consultancy of the Year’ award, as well as a string of other industry accolades for campaigns, creativity and business management. During his career Paul worked as an advisor for organisations such as BMW, BT, Ernst & Young, RWE, Proctor & Gamble, Walmart, the NHS, UK Sport and The Football Association. He began his career in the UK Parliament before taking on an in-house public affairs role in The City of London. Paul then worked in Westminster as a political consultant.

Paul’s work can be found in leading academic journals and text books in his field. He is also the co-author with Anne Gregory of Strategic Public Relations Leadership which explores the key facets of leadership for communication professionals. Paul is a Visiting Fellow at The University of Waikato in New Zealand, a member of the Editorial Advisory Boards for both the Journal of Communication Management and the Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, as well as on the Scientific Committee for the Annual Congress of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association.

Research and Scholarship

The strategic role of communication in the private, public and NGO sectors

How communication can be used by organisations and communities to address ‘wicked problems’

The leadership challenges confronting communication professionals, including how they cope with complexity

Innovative forms of stakeholder engagement

Co-creating curricula for executive education and professional development

Willis, P. (2016). Do business schools have a future? Invited roundtable speaker at the Leeds Business School and Leeds Law School Research and Enterprise Conference, Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University, September 2016.

Willis, P. (2016). Leadership and the art of humble intelligence. Keynote speaker, U4 Network Leadership Programme, Leading Universities in a Global Context, University of Gottingen, Germany, March 2016.

Willis, P. (2015). Experiences of education-practice interactions. Invited speaker, plenary panel, BCN PR Meeting #5: Theory in practice in public relations through to the fully-functioning society, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Catalonia, July 2015.

Willis, P. (2013). Leadership and the new world of governance: What does it mean for you? Keynote speaker, NHS Black and Ethnic Minority Staff Network Conference, Leading Differently for Better Health Care: In Celebration of Black History Month, Bradford District NHS Care Trust, UK, October 2013.

Willis, P. (2013). How do you stop the boat rocking? The essential strategic interventions of communication leaders. Invited speaker, a masterclass for communication directors, TheCommunication Directors’ Forum, the cruise ship Aurora, October 2013.

Willis, P. (2013). Leadership and communicating change: Research profiling and other organisational challenges. Keynote speaker, U4 Network Leadership Programme, Managing Change and Preparing for the Future, University of Gottingen, Germany, October 2013.

Willis, P. (2013). Living the dream: Tomorrow’s people and the future of PR. Keynote speaker, The Public Relations Consultants Association National Conference: The Future of PR. BAFTA, London, UK, September 2013.

2012 (on-going) appointed to the Scientific Committee for the Annual Congress of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA).

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2012). The leadership challenge for public relations. Keynote speakers, Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Leadership Seminar and Graduation Ceremony, Hamilton, New Zealand, December 2012.

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2012). The leadership challenge for public relations. Keynote speakers, Public Relations Institute of New Zealand Leadership Seminar and Graduation Ceremony, Auckland, New Zealand, December 2012.

Willis, P. (2012). A meteorologist and an economist walk into a bar…but can they tell us anything about public relations leadership? Invited speaker, Communication Dialogue Seminar, Department of Management Communication, University of Waikato, New Zealand, December 2012.

Willis, P. (2012). Developing profitable partnerships with large employers: Lessons from co-creation, stakeholder participation and innovation. Invited speaker, Staff Seminar, School of Communication and Creative Industries and School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Australia, November 2012.

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2012). Personal perspectives and reflections on public relations research and pedagogy. Invited speakers, Staff Seminar, School of Media and Communication, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, November 2012.

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2012). Communication priorities and practices within the not-for-profit sector in times of turbulence. Public lecture sponsored by the Department of Media, Film and Communication and Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Otago, New Zealand, November, 2012.

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2012). Re-conceptualising best practice in organisational communication: A new communication model for the UK’s National Health Service. Invited speakers, Staff Seminar, Department of Media, Film and Communication, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, and Centre for Health Systems, University of Otago, New Zealand, November 2012.

Willis, P. (2012). Looking for the needle of public relations in a disciplinary haystack. Invited speaker, plenary panel, BCN Meeting 2012: International conference on social e-xperiences, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Catalonia, July 2012.

Willis, P. (2012). Time to practise what we preach: Public relations education as co-created stakeholder participation. Invited speaker, International Workshop on Public Relations Teaching, Methodologies and Best Practices, University of Navarro, Pamplona, Spain, March 2012.

Willis, P. (2011). Coping strategies for the age of austerity. Chair and keynote speaker, Public Services Communication Seminar, Manchester, United Kingdom, November 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). Strategic communication in a time of turbulence: Meeting the challenge of change. Masterclass, Annual Conference of the Association for Healthcare Communications and Marketing, Birmingham, United Kingdom, November 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). Engaging with people and groups that matter: A workshop for NHS leaders. NHS Yorkshire and Humber, Care to Engage Leadership Conference, Bradford, United Kingdom, October 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). Turbulence, complexity and public relations: How is practice responding to the strategic challenge? Masterclass, NHS Connecting for Health Communication Team, Leeds, United Kingdom, September 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). Turbulence, complexity and strategic public relations interventions: Making the opportunity real. Invited speaker, seminar, Challenges for Public Communication in Times of Crisis, The Centre for Communication Trends, University of San Pablo, Madrid, Spain, June 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). A reflection on the dark side of the moon. Invited speaker, plenary panel, International Communication Association Public Relations Division Pre-Conference, Boston, United States, May 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). The new PR generation: Personal development and new educational models in an uncertain world. Keynote speaker, Fifth Annual Public Relations Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 2011.

Willis, P. (2011). Dealing with complexity in public relations: Impure thoughts about turbulence, stakeholder power and the challenges for practice. Invited speaker, Research Seminar, Faculty of Business and Law, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom, May 2011.

Willis, P. (2009). Adapt or die: Do public relations practitioners have the skills to survive? Motor Industry Public Affairs Association PR Master Class, London, United Kingdom, June 2009.

Willis, P. (2009). The strategic communication leader: The competencies of top communicators in the public sector. Invited speaker, Best Practice in Public Sector Communications Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom, February 2009.

Gregory, A., & Willis, P. (2008). What does it take to be a strategist? Masterclass at Communicate 08: NHS communication conference, London, United Kingdom, November 2008.

Department of Health, research project, What Good Looks Like in Strategic Communication. This led to a DoH policy document which was issued to all NHS Chief Executive Officers describing what their communication functions should do.

Department of Health, co-design and co-delivery of The Communicating Organisation Roadshow, a touring development initiative for senior NHS communicators which visited every Strategic Health Authority region in England.

Cabinet Office, consultancy project on the procurement of learning and development products for professional communicators in Government.

Business advisor/mentor to three companies as part of the University’s European Regional Development Fund Business Growth Calderdale Project.

Administrative Responsibilities

Director of a new Huddersfield Business School research centre (currently in development).

Teaching and Professional Activities

Tutor and Module Leader, MSc Strategic Communication Leadership, a course delivered for the UK Cabinet Office as part of the Government Communication Service Inspire Programme. Specific responsibility for the ‘Strategic Leader’, ‘Engaging Leader’, ‘Leading Leader’ and ‘Masterclasses in Strategic Communication Leadership’ modules.